I recently saw Chris Rock’s excellent documentary, ‘Good Hair’, and didn’t know how much women (he specifically focused on women in his piece) spent on getting their hair done! Nor was I aware at the depths people go to get good hair, those who want it on their own heads and those who purchase it to sell to others. The exploitative side of a good ‘do can reach the point where it rates up there with an international crime on the magnitude of human trafficking. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the movie and watching it.
I came away with a greater appreciation for the ‘hijab’ for Muslim women after watching this movie because of two very striking comments made in it. One was my Maya Angelou who said, ‘hair is a woman’s glory’ and Rock’s statement at the end of the film, ‘it’s not what you put on your head it’s what you put in your head that counts’ that seem to make the point that is made by women who wear, out of a sense of conviction, the head scarf.
Modesty is not just in appearance but in how you shape that appearance is an essential element of the “good hair” debate as well. Take the photo above. I found it on a forum where someone was asking for a barber who could cut his hair like the picture and he went on to say, ‘Price does not matter just want a good haircut’ which could almost mean anything! Rock et. co explored the debate how can people “afford” to do so much to/with their hair in this time of economic uncertainty and the implied answers are as stark as the given ones. It’s scary what we are willing to do to get ‘good hair’.
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